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Sunday, April 06, 2008

In the spring of 2006, with a small group of volunteer researchers from ePluribus Media, I spent a great deal of time looking into the hijacking of the registration of www.mesopotamiagroup.com, the domain of John Dawkins latest company, Mesopotamia Group LLC.

In the process of researching associated domains in shared IP blocks and cross referencing internal html code -- exciting stuff -- I came across images of a guard shack, a product once offered on the Ultra Services website. The guard shack was designed by Kirk von Ackermann with the help of his wife, Megan (credit where credit is due after all).

I pulled the images of the guard shack off of the archived version of the Ultra Services website at the Web Archive. The Ultra Services website has not been maintained and the data has since degenerated further making access to images no longer possible. But fortunately, I had the presence of mind to take screen captures of what still remained of the pages.

Caption above the photographs reads:

Mobile & Demountable Armored Guard Booth Units :

Ultra Services has designed a mobile armored fighting unit to provide force protection for forward units in hostile environments. The units are armored according to client specifications (U. S. Level IV maximum). The units are designed to be mobilized or demobilized by no more than 10 personnel within 1 hour of deployment at the site.

The units are fully modularized, meaning that if one of the armor or glass panels must be replaced, additional panels can be purchased from Ultra-Services on an individual basis-the unit does not have to be totally replaced. Ultra-Services will train and certify personnel on construction of the units. Ultra-Services will also provide certification teams to perform periodic inspections of the panels to insure their readiness for force protection.

We produce vehicles made to transport and quickly support the assembly of the 72 and 5 piece units.

This was the product Irex Ltd. was in the process of researching and developing when Kirk von Ackermann disappeared.

PS One day, I'll get around to telling the story of the domain hijacking. It's a fascinating whodunnit for geeks like myself. But for now, it would prove an unnecessary distraction to an already full plate.

Kirk von Ackermann

Missing In Iraq

Ryan G. Manelick

On December 14, 2003, his colleague, Ryan Manelick (right) was gunned down shortly after leaving Camp Anaconda also near Balad, Iraq. Both worked for the same contractor, Ultra Services of Istanbul, Turkey.